Additional Coverage:
- Suspect arrested a year after a dancer was kidnapped from her apartment, tortured and left to die in burned car (newsbreak.com)
Exotic Dancer’s Murder Leads to Arrest
Sencere Hayes, 22, has been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of Mercedes Vega, a 22-year-old exotic dancer.
Vega’s body was found in April 2023 inside a burning car on Interstate 10 near Phoenix. She had been beaten, shot, and doused in bleach.
Surveillance footage showed Vega entering her apartment garage the night before her death. Her family believes she was attacked there, as blood was found inside.
Hayes was taken into custody in Tennessee over 18 months after Vega’s murder. The exact charges he faces are unclear, but more arrests are expected.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is working to extradite Hayes back to Maricopa County, where the case will proceed.